SCOUTING REPORT | They keep coming, setting your own pay raise, the danger of urban chickens, beautiful backyard birds
A weekly digest of interesting local, state, national and even international developments
They’re still coming.
That’s the conclusion of U-Haul’s Growth Index of annual migration data. While not scientific, U-Haul’s annual survey is a pretty good indicator of which states are gaining population and which aren’t.
South Dakota ranked 18th in 2025 in its growth ranking, up from 19th in 2024.
Put another way, for all the one-way traffic recorded by the company, 50.9 percent was in-migration, while 49.1 percent left the state.
“I’m not surprised to see South Dakota as one of the top states on the 2025 U-Haul Growth Index because of all the benefits there are to living here,” said Kellin Sybrant, U-Haul Area District Vice President of South Dakota and several other states. “It’s beautiful, there are low taxes, low crime, it’s family friendly, and it’s affordable.”
Trump administration to inspect South Dakota voter registration records
South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson has agreed to turn over the state’s voter rolls to the Trump administration as part of its efforts to compare voter registrations with immigration records.
